Prostate Cancer Patient in Montpellier Becomes First Cancer Patient in France Treated with Varian’s RapidArc(TM) Radiotherapy

MONTPELLIER, France, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — A 60-year-old
prostate cancer patient from Montpellier has become the first person in France
to be treated using RapidArc(TM) technology from Varian Medical Systems
(NYSE: VAR) for fast and precise forms of intensity modulated radiotherapy
(IMRT). Each of his treatments at the CRLC Val D’Aurelle – Paul Lamarque in
the city took just 75 seconds, several times faster than conventional IMRT
treatments. Dr. Pascal Fenoglietto, the hospital’s chief medical physicist for
scientific projects, presented the case to colleagues at the annual meeting of
the French Society of Radiation Oncologists (SFRO) in Paris from November 12-
14.

“The treatments went extremely well and the patient was very pleased
because compared to conventional IMRT it was three times quicker,” Dr.
Fenoglietto said. “We are now able to use the time we save on treatment
delivery to take more images and increase the quality of our care.”

“The radiation therapists were also very pleased because it is a simpler
treatment for them to deliver,” added Professor Jean-Bernard Dubois, head of
the radiation oncology department and managing director of the hospital.

With RapidArc, Varian’s Clinac(R) medical linear accelerator can target
radiation beams at a tumor while making one continuous rotation around the
patient. Conventional IMRT treatments are slower and more difficult for
radiotherapy radiographers because they target tumors using a complex sequence
of fixed beams from multiple angles.

RapidArc technology allows more control to conform the dose more closely
to the size, shape, and location of the tumor. Faster treatment also
contributes to precision by reducing the time for motion within the anatomy,
and laboratory studies suggest that faster dose delivery kills cancer cells
more effectively. “With this technology we have the opportunity to improve
outcomes while offering more patients greater access to advanced care,” Dr.
Fenoglietto said. “We’re excited to be the first hospital in France and the
fourth in Europe to offer this treatment to patients.”

The hospital, one of the seven members of Varian’s RapidArc Council of
pioneering centers that helped develop the clinical use of the new treatment
technology, carried out the treatment on one of the four Varian linear
accelerators in the department using French-language treatment planning and
oncology information management software. More than 700 patients have been
treated with IMRT at the comprehensive cancer center since its introduction in
2001 and there are plans to replace all conventional IMRT treatments for
tumors in the pelvic region with RapidArc treatments.

According to radiation oncologist Dr. Carmen Llacer Moscardo, “Pelvic
cases can take between 12 and 14 minutes to treat with IMRT but we can now do
them in under two minutes with one arc or, if clinically relevant, about three
minutes with two arcs around the patient with RapidArc. If we do this, there
is less possibility for the patient to move and we reduce the chance of
internal motion playing a part, as there tends to be a lot of motion in the
pelvic region. Also, fast treatments reduce the possibility of inaccuracy and
increase patient comfort.”

RapidArc delivers a volumetric intensity-modulated radiation therapy
treatment in a single or multiple arcs of the treatment machine around the
patient and makes it possible to deliver advanced image-guided IMRT two to
eight times faster than is possible with conventional IMRT. Radiotherapy
studies correlate the ability to spare more healthy tissue with reduced
complications and better outcomes.

Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068

About Varian Medical Systems

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world’s
leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and
other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and
brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing
comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology
practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for
X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also
supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection.
Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 4,800 people who are located at
manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 60 sales and
support offices around the world. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com/.

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems